Why We Eat (Too Much) Thread 4

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

Hi to all regulars and lurkers!

Here's the 4th thread, based on the ideas in Dr Andrew Jenkinson's book. We've seen some amazing losses on these threads, and the benefits for me can be summed up as 'no counting, no starving'.
We don't count calories, and if we're hungry we eat. We're focused on quality.

General eating principles:

No sugar
No wheat (which reduces unhealthy carbs)
No ultra processed foods, and in particular no processed/ultra refined oils
Honourable mention to tipping the balance of omega 3 and 6, but that’s mostly achieved by doing the above.

His principles also include trying to sleep more and reduce stress, and take regular (moderate) exercise.

If any of this sounds promising, please feel free to ask questions and come and join in!

Hi all!

Coming back in after a bad couple of weeks. It's funny though, but even when I'm blatantly eating shite, it just doesn't taste nice any more. I had prawn cocktail crisps last week and stopped eating halfway through the bag because they just tasted greasy. Ditto with a bar of peppermint cream that DH brought me from the shop - it made my mouth sting and tasted cheap. That hasn't stopped me eating a lot of other shite, but at least it's something.

Yesterday was a good day, though - bacon, eggs, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes for lunch, some Greek yoghurt, cream and raspberries mid-afternoon and a late dinner of baked potato, tuna, salad and cheese.

@aramox

Hello! I've read lots of the book and am interested in this, but it seems to assume a lot of meat- am I right? I eat fish, but not that often, and it seems to go against the general trend of eating less meat- is is doable without?

@aramox I agree it seems to be suggesting you do need meat in your diet, if you don't have meat it seems a bit of a tricky diet due to carbs etc.

I'm trying not to overthink as we have a 30/70 in favour of meat at the moment diet (I eat less than my carnivore children) but I'm reducing it so hope to switch to weighting in favour of a veggie diet.

I think the meat should be grain fed and much higher quality

I eat meat but find on this diet a lot less. Lots of tuna and salmon tho! It should be higher quality and preferably grass fed. But even a cheap steak is better than a steak and mushroom pie!

I eat meat maybe for 2 meals a week at the weekend, otherwise it's vegetables, cheese, eggs or fish. Although the more I read about fish production (especially salmon) the less I want to eat it.
I eat a lot of soups and salad so no meat required, just a big range of vegetables. With the exception of our homemade pizza, I can't remember the last time I ate bread.

I have to admit I'm probably eating more meat since reading the book. I was diligently reducing my meat eating, believing it was better for my health and the environment. It probably is better for the environment, but the book has given me carte blanche to forget about the health side.

That said, we don't eat heaps of it, probably three or four meals a week, and it's all free range (local where possible). The fishing thing is a quandary, though we have fish two or three times a week. Not sure what to do about it, ethically speaking. Does not having children give me some eco-credit to spend on fish?

I'm glad to have good reason to sack off those godawful vegan meat replacement substances, though, on the grounds that they are highly processed. For all the names, "miracle burgers" or whatever, they always taste horrible to me. Same goes for Quorn mince, which I've heard described by deluded friends as "indistinguishable" from meat. Is it bollocks.

I was recommended the book by a friend who said it has changed her life
She messaged me last night " have you started reading the book yet ? " my reply was " I ate it "

Slight exaggeration maybe but you get the picture
I'm heavier than I've ever been in my entire life and look and feel awful - bloated old ugly tired
Had the book for a week and haven't even read a single page 😫 I need such a kick up the jacksey

Hello All, just popping in from holiday! All well so far-eating well and all on plan bar some bread last night which I scoffed as I was so hungry.

Only issue as ever is greed, and eating too much as a consequence.

Have been so lucky so far with the weather and walking ten plus miles a day; although it's very easy walking, not at all what I am used to back home in the hills.

I will scroll back now and catch up with everyone's news.

I probably eat more red meat now than I did before eating this way but we eat fish a couple of times a week too. We definitely eat less chicken than we were before but I'm not quite sure why. I'm slowly adding veggie meals to our diets. As a family, we had fallen badly into the processed and ultra processed dinner trap pre-summer due to lots of different factors. Right now, I'm happy to eat more meat if we are all eating better and slowly move my kids over to more regular vegetarian meals. Like my weight, it's a process.

@Words glad you are having a good holiday!

@66babe no kicking here. Be kind to yourself. It's really hard to summon the will to tackle things. Could you try listening to audio version of the book? That way you can potter and do other things while letting it sink in a bit.

@words holiday sounds great! Well done on the sticking to plan!

@TheLeadbetterLife quite agree about quorn. Pretend meat is just grim.

@TheLeadbetterLife if I lived in Portugal I'd eat grilled sardines everyday ! Here in Brittany we have fresh mackerel and lots of oysters and mussels but apart from that most fish is imported, farmed and it's the works and parasites in farmed fish 🤢as well as the eco friendly side of things

@Neeko that's what I want to attempt, a gradual move to more vegetarian meals.

I think I need to be a bit more inventive with my vegetarian meals. The only processed veggie stuff we use are quorn pieces for a fake chicken curry and Richmond sausages. Both of these meals satisfy my youngest who is a right carnivore! Great taste but not WoE 🤷🏼‍♀️. Tomorrow we are having lentil shepherd's pie but that's probably not good due to carbs. Feels a bit of a minefield really

Well yes @samthebordercollie we eat a lot of sardines! We can also get octopus, shrimps, cockles, clams etc that are locally caught, but most of the white fish is also farmed. Except cod, of course, but that only comes dried here.

We used to eat a lot of vegetarian meals but they were mostly pasta based. The other things that I know we like and are filling are quite root veg/ pulse heavy. Did I imagine it or are they not ideal according to the book either?
I think I might need to read again.

Just finished the book.

I'm still a bit unsure about it all - how I'd monitor my eating without scales in the early days, what to actually eat...

Could anyone who has done this for a while and had losses please post their daily menu?

Today I had: natural shake on the way to gym (probably not ideal on plan but there are no nasties in it)
Yeo Valley live plain Yoghurt with a teaspoon of cinnamon

Lunch - spinach omelette made with two eggs

Dinner - vegetable lasagne, salad, homegrown tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries and single cream

@Tinselandlights that sounds perfect. Broadly speaking eat as much protein and fat and veggies as you like. Use butter and olive oil. Cut out vegetable oil. Reduce wheat. The rest will mostly take care of itself. It's a way of eating not a diet so you can be flexible and figure out what works for you.

@66babe hi! The book is actually quite a fun read when you get going. Broad principles suggested at the end are as above. It really suits someone like me who loves cheese and eats a lot of meat anyway (DH likes meat) but there are a bunch of different ways of following it (read the threads for ideas). If you get into it I hope you will find it fun and fairly easy. Most of us have stopped wanting much sugar and have started to think processed food tastes horrible.

Oh and reduce sugar. Keep forgetting that one! It's easier than it sounds after the initial crunch.

I haven't lost as much as lots of people on here but I have gone from overweight to not overweight.

I generally eat Greek yoghurt for breakfast with honey and sometimes fruit, and sometimes flax seed.

Lunch can be omelette, or avocado with something (mozzarella / tomato, feta, crispy bacon). Lemon juice and pepper or olive oil and balsamic vinegar livens it up.

Dinner is generally something nice with chicken or beef. We eat a lot of curry. Chicken is good on the protein if not on the omega three so we still eats lots.

I don't eat breakfast so no help there, and these days lunch is either scrambled eggs with whatever I have lurking in the fridge like cherry tomatoes or maybe a bit of ham or salad. Or maybe leftovers from the night before. And dinner is basically anything except pasta or bread or pastry. If you think of it that way it makes it easier but obviously no processed stuff, just homemade stuff with more veg or salad.

I don't particularly snack but an apple and cheese hits the spot, or a slice of ham or other cooked meat, smoked mackerel and cherry tomatoes, yoghurt qnd fruit etc.

It's not actually a complicated diet. And although I've switched cooking oil to butter/lard I don't actually worry too much about omega 3/6 ratios. It's a ratio and we still need both. So if I have to buy something out and about I just buy a prepacked, non pasta based salad. Or I sometimes have the M and S picnic range in as lunches. Still losing weight.

Yesterday was a bit hit and miss tho. Had a prepacked grains and chicken salad thing for lunch, with this weird naked juice drink, and then we had fry up for dinner and I also needed a small slice of bastarding carrot cake dh had bought. Never mind.

Not sure what today will be, am thinking a nice salad with new potatoes and maybe salmon. Dh won't eat salmon tho so maybe a ploughmans for him.

Thanks so much all! Loads of really brilliant ideas here!

Today I had:
Breakfast: shake (v busy!)
Lunch: leftover short rib beef (made by my DH) sliced with lettuce
Dinner: homemade chicken curry with spaghetti squash and two poppadoms

It wasn't an ideal day but it's my busiest time of year at work and DD's first week of school so it's been a squeeze

Have lost 5lb in a week! Delighted as I'm really enjoying the food and it's easy to prep and freeze.

That's great @Mrsmorton !

Food today has been an omelette with melty French cheese (chaumiere or something like that - have chucked the wrapping and can't remember what it was called), cherry tomatoes and ham. I'm going out to meet friends for dinner at an Indian restaurant, so I ought to be ok if I stick to the rice and sauce and avoid naan bread. Despite all my cheating last week I've maintained my weight, which is a massive relief.

Well done on your 5lb, MrsMorton!

Fantastic @Mrsmorton! What have you eaten?

Sorry, I mean what have you prepared ahead?! @Mrsmorton